Pen Power

THE WORLD LENS

Bloody Wars

Syria

The Geneva Conference for Human Rights and Dignity last week belied the hopes of ending the bloody civil war in Syria, taking toll of about 500,000 civilians and displacing about 12 million people over a period of six years.

The probability of violence back is imminent as the Islamic State and Jehadists are not part of the Geneva conference.

According to Washington post moderate rebels backed by US,Saudi Arabia, and Turkey lost control of some strategic posts including Idlib.

As reported by New York Times interestingly the 1.5 million refugees living in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley camps , once thought to be temporary ones,have begun to create permanent infrastructures .

Battle for Mosul

The fierce battle for Mosul resulted in mass exodus over the last week.

Reuter reported that more than 40,000 people fled the city as a result of renewed accelerated US backed push for displacement

More than 206000 have already fled Mosul since last October.

On Sunday the Iraqi forces have pushed into the old City Center ,held by Islamic State ,and closed on to the main Government complex.

It took Iraqi forces 100 days of fighting to recapture eastern half of Mosul city in January. The assault on western half is in progress since Feb 19 this year.

Peace At last

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) began laying down arms this week under the auspices of United Nations after more than 50 years of war and insurgency.

FARC started off as a Marxist –Leninist peasant uprising but later on morphed into a criminal outfit and fought Govt Army and right wing squads formed to combat it.

Eventually the FARC group spread its tentacles into the Columbia drug trade for raising money to finance its operations .

The Colombia President Jaun Manuel Santos took the challenge of negotiating with FARC representatives and after hectic parleys of negotiations over a period of four years ,a deal was reached to end the fighting.

Although people rejected the peace deal but the President did not relent in his efforts and upheld the ceasefire between its Army and the FARC and thus brought the peace deal to its logical conclusion.

The President received the Nobel Peace Prize for the efforts to bring peace and tranquility in the region.

The Christian Science Monitor expressed that the peace deal lacks effective implementation,but the President Santos is scurrying hard to make the criminal groups to live up to their disarmament commitments.

As a result of peace deal the farmers have speeded up the production of different crops ,something other than coca ,the main ingredient of cocaine .

The Govt is leaving no stone unturned in overcoming the hurdles in the implementation of the Peace Process,so that rebels donot get the upper hand to sabotage the FARC Peace deal again.

Ballistic Battle

The Ballistic Missile Battle between North Korea and South Korea have threatened the region for a possible military confrontations once again.

The North Korea launched four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan on Monday (6/3/17) as close as 186 miles to its northwest coast.

The launch was in response to US-South Korea military drills interpreted by North Korea as preparation for war.

The move prompted South Korea’s acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn to ask for swift US deployment of missile shield ,Terminal High Altitude Area Defense(THAAD).

The US President’s national security Deputies have reviewed the situation with responses of possible missile strikes of North Korea’s launching sites in case of any eventuality.

As quoted by The New York Times one of the five major components of THAAD already arrived in South Korea .The system could be operational in about two months as per the official spokeswoman of South Korea.

China is reported making hectic parleys to ask North Korea to stop further tests ensuring to call for halt of US-SouthKorea military drills.

China meanwhile has gone to the extent of asking its people to boycott South Korean products ,companies, to show solidarity with North Korea.

Travel Ban Season

The US President Trump signed a new revised immigration ban order leaving Iraq out of the list and bringing some semblance in the same to look more or less considerate one from the earlier one.

Taking cue from Trump the Israaeli Parliament also passed a controversial Travel ban into a law on Monday itself .

It prevents non-residents ,who support boycotts of Israel or Jewish settlement in west Bank ,from entering the country.

The travel ban has backing of rightwing coalition .

The law personifies boycotts as new front of war against Israel as quoted by LA Times.